We recently connected with Robyn Watson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Robyn, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I was a corporate PR executive in television distribution and was invited to attend a new member meeting/mixer for NY Women In Film & Television (NYWIFT). While at the event, I met a young filmmaker who told me about how she was looking to finalize a film that she had been working on since college (for 6 years). She said she was a struggling creative and needed $7500 to give to her editor to finish the film, and it would change her life. I remember thinking that I had just received over $15K worth of lanyards, pens, and cups to my office that very day for a marketing event that was no longer happening. I also remembered thinking that I wished I could sell that useless marketing collateral and give the money to this filmmaker to finish her project. The next day, I went to my boss and told her about my experience at the mixer and asked if I could use some of my discretionary marketing funding to help the organization and then help the filmmaker. She was on board with me doing this; in the process, I discovered that my company already gave to NYWIFT from a corporate social responsibility standpoint. I immediately knew I wanted to do more to help female creatives, so I joined the board of NYWIFT, then joined the international board, WIFTI, ultimately landing in Atlanta to lead the Women In Film & Television Atlanta (WIFTA) board. After leaving corporate, I started my consulting business, WATSON MEDIA VENTURES, which is a consulting firm that connects and strategizes with creatives to move their film/television/events forward; this includes help with production, marketing, financing, staffing/crew-up, talent and more. I do it all!

Robyn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a dynamic executive with over 25 years of experience in communications, marketing, and business strategy across both public and private sectors. I specialize in developing strategic plans that meet the diverse needs of clients, including employees, customers, media, and communities. My expertise encompasses marketing, media relations, talent engagement, and crisis communications for Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits.
My most recent clients have all been in the entertainment space, where I’ve had a proven track record of creating strategic plans that have led to film and television projects being completed and distributed. However, I’m still a “Jackie of all trades” and have recently started managing a working actor, Michelle Rivera.
I’m passionate about technology, media, entertainment, sports, nonprofits and event management industries. I actively engage in corporate roles, contract positions, and community initiatives. I am a results-oriented leader with exceptional relationship-building skills and a commitment to strategic success. My work in non-profit also was the catalyst for me receiving an honorary doctorate in Humanitarianism. I am a true servant leader!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have had gaps in my corporate life where, luckily, I had my consulting business to fall back on. But going from corporate to being an entrepreneur is NOT easy. While it’s great to be your own boss and manage the work and clients you take on, there’s a huge challenge to doing everything by yourself and having to rely just on your hard work to make money. There’s a certain hustle you have to have to find the consulting gigs, and then there’s a certain moxy you have to have to maintain them; you’re the strategist, doer, and everything in between. You are your own agency while still balancing your own life and you do what the client needs. And you need to find clients that will pay you consistently; that is often a challenge in the entertainment space. There are definitely pros and cons to running a consulting business and I have been fortunate to be able to pivot back and forth based on what corporate opportunities come my way.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

It was easy for me to put together the initial capital to start my business because it really was started BECAUSE I needed to put some money somewhere after I left my corporate job in 2013; I was laid off in April and by June I had people asking me to come help with projects. When that became my norm, I started my business in the Fall of 2013 with the money from all of the projects I was working on. That’s not normally how that works and I’ve advised people on how to put together capital for film projects by soliciting investors — family, friends, interested people, etc. Once you figure out how much capital you need, you have to put together a strategy plan and one-pager discussing who you are, why you need funding, and most importantly, how the investor will get their money back or be a permanent part of the business/project.

Contact Info:

• Website: watsonmediaventures.com, wifta.org
• Instagram: @robynawatson, @watson_mediaventures, @wiftatlanta
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynwatson/